Variable diameter hose mounting system

ABSTRACT

A mounting bracket for supporting plumbing conduits on a boom arm of an agricultural sprayer has a variable diameter conduit retaining portion having a flexible tie strap and a saddle with a strap-receiving channel formed therein configured to allow for the passage of the tie strap through the saddle. The saddle has a vertex at or near its center and two legs extending from the vertex to form a generally V-shape. The saddle has an upper opening leading to the strap-receiving channel at an outer end of one leg that forms a first end of the channel and a lower opening at an opposite end of the channel at an outer end of the second leg. A front wall of the saddle has at least two cavities therein leading to the channel in between the upper and lower openings with a first of said at least two cavities on one side of the vertex and a second of said at least two cavities on the other side of the vertex. The upper and lower openings and the at least two cavities provide for a plurality of paths for the tie strap. A large diameter path is provided by having the tie strap pass through the upper opening into the channel, out through the first cavity so that the tie strap passes on a conduit-facing side of the vertex of the saddle, back into the channel through the second cavity, and out through the lower opening. A medium diameter path is provided by having the tie strap pass through the upper opening, through the channel and through the lower opening. A small diameter is path provided by having the tie strap pass through the first cavity into the channel and through the second cavity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/548,767 filed Oct. 19, 2011, entitled “VARIABLE DIAMETER HOSEMOUNTING SYSTEM.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to a sprayer boom on a crop sprayer,and more particularly to a modular bracket system for mounting plumbingconduits of different diameters to the sprayer boom.

2. Description of Related Art

The high crop yields of modern agribusiness require application offertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Dispersing these chemicals ontohigh acreage fields requires specialized machines mounted on or towed bya vehicle. An example of such a machine is the self-propelled cropsprayer.

A common design for a self-propelled crop sprayer includes a dedicatedchassis with a tank, boom arms, and nozzles connected to the boom arms.The tank contains fluid such as fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.Boom arms extend outward from the sides of the dedicated chassis. Boomplumbing contains supply lines and a plurality of nozzles spaced apartalong the length of the boom arms at a standard spacing distance whichcorresponds to the spray pattern of the nozzles. In operation, as thecrop sprayer crosses the field, fluid is pumped from the tank throughthe supply lines along the boom arms, and out through the nozzles. Thisallows the self-propelled sprayer to distribute the fluid along arelatively wide path. The length of conventional boom arms may varyfrom, for example, 6 meters (18 feet) up to 46 meters (150 feet), butsmaller or longer booms are possible. The boom arms typically swing infor transport and out for operation.

Conventionally, pipes and hoses are supported along the boom arms withflat or bent metal brackets attached to the boom with u-bolts.Attachment of the pipes and hoses with the u-bolts can be timeconsuming. Based on the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide aconfigurable plumbing mounting system that reduces the amount ofhardware, enhances functionality, durability, flexibility in mountingoptions and simplifies assembly.

OVERVIEW OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a configurable plumbingmount for supporting plumbing conduits on a boom arm of an agriculturalsprayer. The plumbing mount includes a mounting base mountable on a beamof the boom arm at its proximal end and having an elongated platformportion extending to a distal end. The platform portion has a frontface, a rear face, and opposing side faces, the front face forming abase interface having a center groove running between two tracks. Thetracks run from the distal end to a primary stop. One of the tracks hasa secondary stop formed thereon located between the primary stop and thedistal end of the mounting base. The plumbing mount also has at leastone conduit bracket having a conduit retaining portion and a bracketinterface configured to slidingly engage and lock with the baseinterface of the mounting base. The bracket interface has a centertongue with first and second skids on opposing sides on the centertongue. The conduit bracket is configured to slide on the mounting baseby interlocking the center tongue with the center groove.

In one aspect, the bracket interface is configured to mount the conduitbracket on the mounting base in a first orientation with a first end ofthe center tongue initially inserted into the groove or in a secondorientation with a second end of the center tongue initially insertedinto the center groove. In the orientation with the first end insertedfirst, the skid without the ledge slides along the track with thesecondary stop over the secondary stop until the tab overlays theprimary stop and the detent snaps over the primary stop to lock theconduit bracket onto the mounting base. In the second orientation, theskid with the ledge slides along the track with the secondary stop andslides over the secondary stop until the ledge contacts the secondarystop and the detent snaps over the secondary stop to lock the conduitbracket onto the mounting base.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a mounting bracket forsupporting plumbing conduits on a boom arm of an agricultural sprayer.The mounting bracket has a variable diameter conduit retaining portionhaving a flexible tie strap and a saddle with a strap-receiving channelformed therein configured to allow for the passage of the tie strapthrough the saddle. The saddle has a vertex at or near its center andtwo legs extending from the vertex to form a generally V-shape. Thesaddle has an upper opening leading to the strap-receiving channel at anouter end of one leg that forms a first end of the channel and a loweropening at an opposite end of the channel at an outer end of the secondleg. A front wall of the saddle has at least two cavities thereinleading to the channel in between the upper and lower openings with afirst of said at least two cavities on one side of the vertex and asecond of said at least two cavities on the other side of the vertex.

The upper and lower openings and the at least two cavities provide for aplurality of paths for the tie strap. A large diameter path is providedby having the tie strap pass through the upper opening into the channel,out through the first cavity so that the tie strap passes on aconduit-facing side of the vertex of the saddle, back into the channelthrough the second cavity, and out through the lower opening. A mediumdiameter path is provided by having the tie strap pass through the upperopening, through the channel and through the lower opening. A smalldiameter is path provided by having the tie strap pass through the firstcavity into the channel and through the second cavity.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a configurable mountingsystem for supporting plumbing conduits on a boom arm of an agriculturalsprayer. The mounting system includes a mounting base mountable on abeam of the boom arm at its proximal end and having an elongatedplatform portion extending to a distal end. The platform portion has afront face, a rear face, and opposing side faces, the front face forminga base interface having a center groove running between two tracks. Thetracks run from the distal end to a primary stop. One of the tracks hasa secondary stop formed thereon located between the primary stop and thedistal end of the mounting base. The mounting system also has at leastone conduit bracket having a conduit retaining portion and a bracketinterface configured to slidingly engage and lock with the baseinterface of the mounting base. The bracket interface has a centertongue with first and second skids on opposing sides on the centertongue. The conduit bracket is configured to slide on the mounting baseby interlocking the center tongue with the center groove. The mountingsystem also has an extension member mounted on the distal end of themounting base. The extension member forms an extension to the platformportion increasing an area capable of receiving conduit brackets. Themounting system also has a horizontal spacer positionable between themounting base and the conduit bracket. The horizontal spacer increasesthe horizontal separation between the mounting base and plumbing mountmounted on the horizontal spacer.

These and other features and advantages of this invention are describedin, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of variousexample embodiments of the systems and methods according to thisinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other features of this invention will becomemore apparent and the invention itself will be better understood byreference to the following description of embodiments of the inventiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a crop sprayer;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a boom arm on the cropsprayer of FIG. 1 showing a plumbing mount of a configurable mountingsystem according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a mounting base of the plumbing mount ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the mounting base of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view a plumbing mount of the configurablemounting system having an extension member;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the plumbing mount of FIG. 5 without theplumbing brackets; and

FIG. 7 is a view of the mounting base and the extension member of theplumbing mount of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view a conduit bracket of the configurablemounting system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is an end view of the conduit bracket of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the conduit bracket of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view another embodiment of a conduit bracket ofthe configurable mounting system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the conduit bracket of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is a side view of a plumbing mount of the configurable mountingsystem having a horizontal spacer between the mounting base and theconduit bracket.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The invention will now be described in the following detaileddescription with reference to the drawings, wherein preferredembodiments are described in detail to enable practice of the invention.Although the invention is described with reference to these specificpreferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to these preferred embodiments. But to the contrary, theinvention includes numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalentsas will become apparent from consideration of the following detaileddescription.

FIG. 1 shows a crop sprayer 10 used to deliver chemicals to agriculturalcrops in a field. Crop sprayer 10 includes a chassis 12 and a cab 14mounted on the chassis 12. Cab 14 may houses an operator and a number ofcontrols for the crop sprayer 10. An engine 16 may be mounted on aforward portion of chassis 12 in front of cab 14 or may be mounted on arearward portion of the chassis 12 behind the cab 14. The engine 16 maybe commercially available from a variety of sources and may comprise,for example, a diesel engine or a gasoline powered internal combustionengine. The engine 16 provides energy to propel crop sprayer 10 and alsomay provide energy used to spray fluids from the crop sprayer 10.

The crop sprayer 10 further includes at least one storage tank 18 usedto store fluid to be sprayed on the field. The fluid may includechemicals, such as but not limited to, herbicides, pesticides, and/orfertilizers. The at least one storage tank 18 may be mounted on chassis12, either in front of or behind cab 14. Crop sprayer 10 may includemore than one storage tank 18 to store different chemicals to be sprayedon the field. The stored chemicals may be dispersed by crop sprayer 10one at a time or different chemicals may be mixed and dispersed togetherin a variety of mixtures.

Boom arms 20 extending from each side of the crop sprayer 10 are used todistribute the fluid from the at least one tank 18 over a wide swath asthe crop sprayer 10 is driven through the field. The boom arms 20extending from either side of the crop sprayer 10 are desirablysubstantially identical but mirror images of each other. The fluid isconveyed by a fluid supply system 22 using pipes and/or hoses, broadlyconduits, 24 to various spray nozzles (not shown) spaced along the boomarms 20. As is known in the art, the fluid supply system 22 includes atleast one pump (not shown) configured to pumps fluid from the at leastone tank 18 through the various hoses and/or pipes 24 to the spraynozzles (not shown). An operator of the crop sprayer 10 may use controls(not shown) located in the cab 14 to control movement of the boom arm 20and to turn on and to shut off the fluid flow to the plurality of spraynozzles. Each boom arm 20 has a frame containing one or more tubularbeams 26 that extend from the crop sprayer 10 to the distal end of theboom arm 20. According to the invention, conduits 24 are supported alongbeams 26 of the boom arms 20 using a configurable mounting system 30 aswill be described below.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the configurable mounting system 30 includes aplurality of plumbing mounts 32 spaced along the beam 26 to support theconduits of the fluid supply system 22. Since crop sprayers 10 are usedin different conditions and on different types of crop, the fluid supplysystem 22 carried on one crop sprayer 10 may be different than the fluidsupply system 22 carried on another crop sprayer 10 designed for use indifferent conditions. Therefore, the plumbing mounts 32 of theconfigurable mounting system 30 have a modular design for receivingconduit brackets 34 that support the different type and diameter ofconduits 24 used in fluid supply systems 22 on different crop sprayers10.

The plumbing mount 32 includes a mounting base 40 attachable to the beam26. In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting base 40 receives anL-shaped clasp arm 42 that hooks around the square tubing of the beam26. Desirably, the clasp arm 42 is pivotably received on the mountingbase 40 on a cylindrical hinge point 44 at a proximal end 46 of themounting base 40 as best seen in FIG. 3. A clamping bolt 48 and nut 49connect end of the clasp arm 42 to the mounting base 40 to lock themounting base 40 on the beam 26. Desirably, the mounting base 40 has amolded-in hexagon 50 in a beam-mounting portion 52 of the mounting base40 used for capturing the head of the mounting bolt 48 to aid inassembly. In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality molded-in hexagons50 are provided along the beam-mounting portion so the mounting base 40can be used with clasp arms 42 of different sizes so as to clamp onbeams 26 of different sizes. However, one skilled in the art willunderstand that other means for attaching the mounting base 40 to thebeam 26 may be used using sound engineering judgment without departingfrom the scope of the invention.

The mounting base 40 has an elongated platform portion 54 adjacent thebeam-mounting portion 52 extending to a distal end 56 of the mountingbase 40. The platform portion 54 is configured to receive one or moreconduit brackets 34 used to support conduits 24. The platform portion 54has a front face 58, a rear face 60, and opposing side faces 62.Desirably, the front and rear faces 58, 60 are substantially identicalsuch that the mounting base 40 can receive conduit brackets 34 of themounting base. As the front and rear faces 58, 60 are identical in theillustrated embodiment, only the front face 58 will be described herein.The platform portion 54 has a base interface 62 that interacts with abracket interface 63 on conduit brackets 34 to removably lock theconduit brackets 34 on the mounting base 40. The base interface 63includes a center groove 64 running between tracks 66 in the platformportion 54. The center groove 64 and tracks 66 run from the distal end56 of the mounting base 40 to a primary stop 68 located at the boundarybetween the platform portion 54 and the beam-mounting portion 52 of themounting base 40. One of the tracks 66 has a secondary stop 70 formedthereon located between the primary stop 68 and the distal end 56 of themounting base 40. In one embodiment, the center groove 64 has a dovetailshape as best seen in FIG. 4. Side faces 62 have side tongues 72extending therefrom in an upper part of the platform portion 54. Sidetongues 72 extend from the distal end 56 of the mounting base 40 to ablock 74. In the illustrated embodiment, the side tongues 72 have adovetail shape.

Turning now to FIGS. 5-7, the mounting base 40 is selectively capable ofreceiving an extension member 76 to increase the available area capableof receiving conduit brackets 34. FIG. 5 illustrates mounting base 40with the extension member 76 attached thereto having four conduitbrackets 34 supported thereon. Thus, it can be seen that the extensionmember 76 increases the capacity of the plumbing mount 32 of theconfigurable mounting system 30 for applications where additionalconduits 24 need to be supported on the beam 26. The extension member 76has a platform portion 54A with a pair of connection legs 78 extendingfrom side faces 62A. Interior surfaces 80 of the legs 78 have grooves 82formed therein. The extension member 76 fits on the distal end 56 of themounting base 40 with the legs 78 straddling the distal end 56 of themounting base 40 and by interlocking the side tongues 72 on the sidefaces 62 of the mounting base 40 into the grooves 82 on the interiorsurfaces 80 of the legs 78. Each of the ends of the legs 78 has a tab 84with a detent 86 that snaps over the block 74 at the end of the sidetongue 72 to lock the extension member 76 onto the mounting base 40.Desirably, tabs 84 are flexible such that they may be pulled out torelease the detents 86 when removal of the extension member 76 from themounting base 40 is desired.

As can be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the platform portion 54A of theextension member 76 is substantially similar to the platform portion 54of the mounting base 40 such that a center groove 64A in the extensionmember 76 aligns with the center groove 64 of the mounting base 40.Additionally, tracks 66A of the extension member 76 align with thetracks 66 of the mounting base 40. Each of the tracks 66A has a primarystop 68A and one of the tracks 66A of the extension member 76 has asecondary stop 70A substantially similar to the secondary stop 70 on oneof the tracks 66 of the mounting base 40.

Turning now to FIGS. 8-10, one embodiment of the conduit bracket 34particularly suited for holding pipes has conduit retaining portion 88and the bracket interface 63. The bracket interface 63 is configured toslidingly engage and lock with the base interface 62 of the mountingbase 40 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The conduit retaining portion 88 has a saddle92 and a hinged cover 94 that is mounted at one end of the saddle 92with a pivot mount 96 and is configured to attach to the saddle 92 witha clamping bolt (not shown) passing through a bolt-receiving hole 100(FIG. 2) at its opposing end. In the illustrated embodiment, the pivotmount 96 includes a pivot shaft 102 on the hinged cover 94 that snapfits into hooked trough 104. However, one skilled in the art willunderstand that the conduit retaining portion 88 may have clamping bolts98 at both ends of the cover 94, or may use other conduit retainingmeans using sound engineering judgment. Desirably, conduit facingsurfaces of the hinged cover 94 and saddle 92 have anti-rotation ribsand anti-slip ridges to reduce movement of the conduit 24.

The bracket interface 63 has a center tongue 106 with first and secondskids 108 on opposing sides on the center tongue 106. Each skid 108 hasa tab 110 with a locking detent 112 at one end thereof. The first skid108 has a ledge 114 formed thereon running a portion of the length ofthe skid 108 and terminating before reaching the tab 110 and lockingdetent 112. In the illustrated embodiment best seen in FIG. 10, thecenter tongue 106 has a dovetail shape that corresponds to the dovetailshape of the center groove 64 in the platform portion 54 of the mountingbase 40. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the centergroove 64 and center tongue 106 may have other interlocking shapes, sucha T-shaped groove and tongue or an obround and groove without departingfrom the scope of the invention. The conduit bracket 34 slides on themounting base 40 by interlocking the center tongue 106 into the centergroove 64. Of course one skilled in the art will understand that otherinterlocking shapes for the center tongue 106 and center groove 64 maybe used without departing from the scope of the invention. Additionally,one skilled in the art will understand that the center tongue 106 may beon the mounting base 40 and the center groove 64 may be on the conduitbracket 34.

In the example embodiment, the bracket interface 63 is configured tomount the conduit bracket 34 on the mounting base 40 with either thepivot mount 96 on top or with the bolt-receiving hole 100 on top. In theorientation with the bolt-receiving hole 100 on top, the skid 108without the ledge 114 slides along the track 66 with the secondary stop70. The skid 108 slides over the secondary stop 70 until the tab 110overlays the primary stop 68 and the detent 112 snaps over the primarystop 68 to lock the conduit bracket 34 onto the mounting base 40.Desirably, the tab 110 is flexible such that it may be pulled out torelease the detent 112 when removal of the conduit bracket 34 from themounting base 40 is desired. In the orientation with the pivot mount 96on top, the skid 108 with the ledge 114 slides along the track 66 withthe secondary stop 70. The skid 108 slides over the secondary stop 70until the ledge 114 contacts the secondary stop 70 and the detent 112snaps over the secondary stop 70 to lock the conduit bracket 34 onto themounting base 40. When the bracket interface 63 interacts and locks withthe primary stop 68, the conduit bracket 34 is mounted in a firststation 120 (FIG. 2) on the mounting base 40. When the bracket interface63 interacts and locks with the secondary stop 70, the conduit bracket34 is mounted in a second station 122 (FIG. 2) on the mounting base 40that is offset vertically from the first station 120. FIG. 1 illustratesa conduit bracket 34 mounted on the second station 122 on the front face58 of the mounting base 40 and a second conduit bracket 34 mounted inthe first station 120 on the rear face 60 of the mounting base 40. Thus,it can be seen that the operator may select the vertical position of theconduit bracket 34 on the mounting base 40 with the orientation of theconduit bracket 34. Of course, one skilled in the art will understandthat the specific conduit retaining portion 88 used in the descriptionof the interaction of the bracket interface 63 with the base interface62 is for example purposes only and is to help describe the possibleorientations of the bracket interface 63 relative the base interface 62.

Turning now to FIGS. 11-12, an embodiment of a variable diameter conduitbracket 34A is illustrated. The variable diameter conduit bracket 34Ahas a bracket interface 63 configured to slidingly engage and lock withthe base interface 62 of the mounting base 40 identical to bracketinterface 63 of the conduit bracket 34. A conduit retaining portion 88of the variable diameter conduit bracket 34A has a flexible tie strap126 and a saddle 92A with a strap-receiving channel 130 formed therein.The tie strap 126 may be of any conventional design known to thoseskilled in the art and need to be described in detail. Thestrap-receiving channel 130 allows for the passage of the tie strap 126through the saddle 92A. The saddle 92 has a vertex 132 at or near itscenter and two legs 134 extending from the vertex 132 in a generallyV-shape. A conduit 24 supported by the variable diameter conduit bracket34A is held in the saddle 92A by the tie strap 126 such that the lowerof the two legs 134 supports the weight of the conduit 24 and the tiestrap 126 is primarily in tension pulling the conduit 24 toward thevertex 132 of the saddle 92A. The saddle 92A has an upper opening 136leading to the strap-receiving channel 130 at an outer end of one legthat forms a first end of the channel 130 and a lower opening 138 at anopposite end of the channel 130 at an outer end of the second leg. Afront wall 140 of the saddle 92 has a plurality of cavities 142 thereinleading to the channel 130 in between the upper and lower openings 136,138. In the illustrated embodiment, two cavities 142 are provided in thefront wall 140, a first cavity 142A on one side of the vertex 132 and asecond cavity 142B on the other side of the vertex 132. However, oneskilled in the art will understand that more than two cavities 142 maybe used.

The upper and lower openings 136, 138 and the plurality of cavities 142provide for a multitude of paths for the tie strap 126 to pass throughin order to accommodate differing diameters of conduits 24. As best seenin FIG. 12, a large diameter path L is provided by having the tie strap126 pass through the upper opening 136 into the channel 130, out throughthe first cavity 142A so that the tie strap 126 passes on theconduit-facing side of the vertex 132 of the saddle 92, back into thechannel 130 through the second cavity 142B, and out through the loweropening 138. A medium diameter path M is provided by having the tiestrap 126 pass through the upper opening 136, through the channel 130and through the lower opening 138. A small diameter path S is providedby having the tie strap 126 pass through the first cavity 142A into thechannel 130 and through the second cavity 142B. One skilled in the artwill understand that additional cavities 142 may be provided between theupper and lower openings 136, 138 to provide additional path options.The shape of the saddle 92A and the number of guide paths for the tiestrap 126 enable the variable diameter conduit bracket 34A to be usedfor conduits 24 having a range of diameters.

Desirably, the back wall 144 of the channel 130 has a shape configuredto feed the tie strap 126 in the desired path, L, M or S. The back wall144 has a center section 146 with a curved surface to deflect a tiestrap 126 inserted through one of the cavities 142 out of the othercavity 142. The back wall 144 has outer sections 148 with straightsurfaces sloped to guide the tie strap 126 through the channel 130 andout the opposite opening 136 or 138.

Turning now to FIG. 13, a horizontal spacer 150 can be mounted on theplumbing mount 32 between the mounting base 40 and the conduit bracket34 to increase the horizontal separation between the conduit 24 and themounting base 40. As seen, the horizontal spacer 150 has a body 152 withan interface 154 substantially identical with the bracket interface 63on a first side that mounts on the base interface 62 of the mountingbase 40. A second side of the body has an interface 156 substantiallyidentical with the base interface 62. Thus, the conduit bracket 34, 34Acan be mounted on the second side of the horizontal spacer 150 insubstantially the same way as described above. Therefore, the horizontalspacer 150 can be used to vary the horizontal spacing of the conduit 24with respect to the mounting base 40 or other conduits 24 on theplumbing mount 32.

Thus, the plumbing mount 32 of the configurable mounting system 30 canbe attached to the beam 26 of the crop sprayer 10 and outfitted withconduit brackets 34, 34A that can be positioned at different stationsvertically and horizontally with respect to the mounting base 40. Theconduit brackets 34, 34A can be installed in different verticalpositions by switching the orientation of the conduit bracket 34, 34A orby adding an extension member 76 to the mounting base 40. The conduitbrackets 34, 34A can be installed in different horizontal positions byusing horizontal spacers 150 between the mounting base 40 and theconduit brackets 34. Additionally, conduit brackets 34 of differentsizes or a variable diameter conduit bracket 34A can be used on theplumbing mount 32 based on the sizes of the conduits in the fluiddistribution system 22.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specificembodiments described above, it is evident that many alternatives,combinations, modifications and variations are apparent to those skilledin the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of this invention, asset forth above are intended to be illustrative only, and not in alimiting sense. Various changes can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mounting bracket for supporting plumbingconduits on a boom arm of an agricultural sprayer, the mounting brackethaving a variable diameter conduit retaining portion comprising: aflexible tie strap; and a saddle with a strap-receiving channel formedtherein configured to allow for the passage of the tie strap through thesaddle, the saddle having a vertex at or near its center and two legsextending from the vertex to form a generally V-shape, wherein thesaddle has an upper opening leading to the strap-receiving channel at anouter end of one leg that forms a first end of the channel and a loweropening at an opposite end of the channel at an outer end of the secondleg, and a front wall having at least two cavities therein leading tothe channel in between the upper and lower openings with a first of saidat least two cavities on one side of the vertex and a second of said atleast two cavities on the other side of the vertex, wherein the upperand lower openings and the at least two cavities provide for a pluralityof paths for the tie strap, the plurality of paths comprising: a largediameter path provided by having the tie strap pass through the upperopening into the channel, out through the first cavity so that the tiestrap passes on a conduit-facing side of the vertex of the saddle, backinto the channel through the second cavity, and out through the loweropening; a medium diameter path provided by having the tie strap passthrough the upper opening, through the channel and through the loweropening; and a small diameter path provided by having the tie strap passthrough the first cavity into the channel and through the second cavity.2. The conduit bracket of claim 1 wherein a back wall of the channel hasa center section with a curved surface to deflect a tie strap insertedthrough one of the cavities out of another cavity and outer sectionswith straight surfaces sloped to guide a tie strap inserted into one ofthe openings through the channel and out the opposite opening.
 3. Theconduit bracket of claim 1 wherein a conduit to be supported by theconduit bracket is held in the saddle by the tie strap such that thelower of the two legs supports the weight of the conduit and the tiestrap is primarily in tension pulling the conduit toward the vertex ofthe saddle.
 4. The conduit bracket of claim 1 further comprising abracket interface configured to slidingly engage and lock with a baseinterface of a mounting base.